|
|
Licensure in Biology
Education
 |
"Since new developments
are the products of a creative mind, we must therefore stimulate and
encourage that type of mind in every way
possible."
George
Washington Carver
(1864-1943) |
General Requirements for Licensure in
Biology:
-
Completion of the College requirements for graduation
including the core curriculum requirements.
-
Completion of the requirements for a Biology major.
Biology majors seeking teaching licensure must complete Biology
401.
-
Completion of the requirements for the Teacher Education
Program.
Course
Requirements:
-
EDU 121 (History of Educational Theory and Practice)
-
EDU 242 (Educational Psychology and Teaching
Exceptionalities)
-
EDU 250
(Multicultural Education), or 260 (Social Diversity and Inequality in Education), or 320 (Growing up
Jim Crow), or 340 (Education in African American
Society)
-
EDU 400 (Organization for Teaching)
-
EDU 410-411 (Internship in Teaching)
-
EDU 420 (Seminar in Secondary
Education)
Other
Requirements:
To
demonstrate depth of content for Evidence #2, students planning to earn
licensure in biology are required to submit a research paper that
reflects in-depth scientific research
and analysis. T
he structure of the paper must include the
following.
- Cover page. Include your name, the title
of your paper, and the date submitted to the Department of
Education.
- Table of contents. Design your Table of Contents
in such a way that your reader will find it helpful in navigating the
contents of your project.
- One page abstract. This is a summation of the key
points found during your research exploration.
- Introduction. Here you will outline
the issue to be studied and explain why it is worthy of significant
research analysis.
- Summary of previous scholarship. This is a brief (about two
pages) summary of previous scholarly investigation of your topic. This will provide a context
for the main body of your research that is to follow. You should be careful to make
sure that this is a brief document unto itself; in other words, it
should be a clear and coherent essay, rather than an annotated
bibliography or a series of disjointed paragraphs summarizing previous
work.
- The Research Study. The body of your paper. Here
you will present your research findings.
- Conclusion. Summarize your main findings and
then explain the importance of your research. In other words, explain why
your work is important.
This is also a good place to speculate what further lines of
inquiry might be fruitful for future research.
- Bibliography or Works Cited pages. This section should include
sources that were actually cited in the paper. If you would like, you
can also include a list of Works Consulted. Be sure everything is
documented according to an accepted scholarly format such as APA,
Chicago, Turabian, etc.
- Summary of research methods. Here you will
provide a detailed summary of the research practices and methods
employed during the writing of your paper. For instance, you will want to
explain how you arrived at your topic and what kind of background work
went into narrowing and focusing your inquiry. Also, you will explain how you
collected your initial information and what changes occurred during
your research—i.e., how your topic became more refined as you
continued with your work.
Other items that you will want to include should refer to what
databases you used, what people you consulted who helped during your
research, difficulties you had in gathering certain information,
treasures you stumbled on accidentally while browsing the stacks. In short, you will want to
explain your trials and tribulations encountered during this project.
- Note. The total length of the paper should stay
roughly between 15-25 double spaced pages, not counting bibliography,
table of contents, summary of research methods, and abstract.
Standards for High School Science
Teachers
The
following standards are mandated by the North Carolina Department of
Public Instruction and are imbedded in the specialty area
coursework.
Standard 1.
Twenty-first century science teachers understand safety and
liability concerns in science and advocate for the provision and use of
appropriate safety materials and enforcement practices in the classroom,
laboratory, and field.
Science
teacher candidates know and are able to:
-
Ensure
that safety precautions and procedures are included in instruction and
provide supervision during laboratory and field
experiences.
-
Analyze
the lab/activities for safety and research materials/chemicals,
including use of MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets), to identify safety
concerns before they are used.
-
Have
a working knowledge of, and comply with, science safety laws, codes,
standards, and procedures.
-
Model
and enforce appropriate safety
behaviors.
-
Collaborate
with colleagues to develop a short- and long-term plan for improvement
of science safety.
Standard 2. Twenty-first century science teachers
understand and are able to use the unifying concepts of science in their
instruction.
Science
teacher candidates understand the following unifying concepts of science,
and organize their instruction around them:
-
Systems,
Order and Organization
-
Evidence,
Models and Explanation
-
Constancy,
Change, and Measurement
-
Evolution
and Equilibrium
-
Form
and Function
Teachers
should possess the content knowledge of life sciences, physical sciences,
and earth and environmental sciences, as outlined in the North Carolina Standard Course of
Study.
Standard 3. Twenty-first century science teachers
demonstrate an understanding of the nature of science, the historical
development of scientific thought, the process of scientific inquiry, and
the reciprocal relationship between science and
society.
Science
teacher candidates understand the following tenets of science, and
organize their instruction around them:
-
Science
is universal, multidisciplinary, cumulative and
self-revising.
-
Science
represents a way to answer questions based on observations, confirmable
evidence and logical thinking.
-
The
development of scientific thought is not necessarily
linear.
-
Modern
science is based on contributions, both past and present, from diverse
cultures.
-
Scientific
knowledge and applications affect and change human
society.
-
Science
progresses through communication within the scientific community, as
well as with the public, allowing for feedback, challenges, and peer
review.
Standard 4. Twenty-first century science teachers
understand and are able to apply scientific skills and math concepts,
using appropriate equipment and tools.
Science
teacher candidates know and are able to:
-
Demonstrate
proficiency in using measurement tools to perform investigations and
gather accurate quantitative
information.
-
Employ
principles and applications of mathematics appropriate to the science
content they teach.
-
Demonstrate
proficiency in using scientific equipment commonly used in a given
science discipline.
Standard 5. Twenty-first century science teachers
plan and implement lessons that engage students in the process of
hands-on, minds-on scientific inquiry.
Science
teacher candidates know and are able to:
-
Plan
for acquisition, dissemination and management of materials and
equipment.
-
Incorporate
appropriate field investigations and field
trips.
-
Identify
‘real world’ questions and facilitate scientific investigations of these
questions to teach science content.
-
Incorporate
appropriate authentic assessment techniques to gauge student progress
through inquiry based
instruction.
|
